Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs articles from August 2005

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs archives from August 2005

Terrorist financing: U.S. agency efforts and inter-agency coordination.(Brief article)
August 1, 2005... Summary Stopping the ability of terrorists to finance their operations is a key component of the U.S. counterterrorism strategy. To accomplish this, the Administration has implemented a three-tiered approach based on (1) intelligence and...

Introduction (1).(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)
August 1, 2005... Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, there has been significant interest in terrorist financing. Following the attacks, the Administration's strategy to combat terrorist financing was focused foremost on freezing terrorist assets. According to...

Legislation on terrorist financing (7).(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)(Column)
August 1, 2005... "Money laundering" has traditionally been understood to mean the process by which "dirty" money derived from illegal activity is disguised as legitimate--or "clean"--by virtue of how it is distributed among financial institutions. The federal...

The intelligence community (71).(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)
August 1, 2005... In approving the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, Congress established the position of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and created the new National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), where a panoply of the U.S....

The interagency process (91).(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)(Column)
August 1, 2005... The National Security Council is responsible for the overall coordination of the interagency framework for combating terrorism including the financing of terrorist operations. Given divergent concerns among various departments and agencies only...

Financial regulators and institutions (95).(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)
August 1, 2005... The nation's financial institutions, their regulators, and certain offices within the U.S. Department of the Treasury share primary responsibility for providing information on financial transactions that could be helpful in detecting,...

Internal Revenue Service (115).(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)
August 1, 2005... To help finance its operations and its many spending programs, the federal government levies income taxes, social insurance taxes, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, customs duties, and miscellaneous taxes and fees. The federal agency...

Departments of Homeland Security and Justice.(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)
August 1, 2005... Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) (125) The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection is the principal agency responsible for the security of the nation's borders. CBP was established March 1, 2003 with the creation of Department...

The Department of State (170).(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)
August 1, 2005... The Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT) within the Department of State implements some key activities to help identify and stop terrorist financing and acts as the lead in coordinating U.S. Government agencies in these...

International cooperation (172).(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)
August 1, 2005... In response to concerns expressed by the 9/11 Commission that the U.S. government "has been less successful in persuading other countries to adopt financial regulations that would permit the tracing of financial transactions," (173) some...

Conclusion: policy issues for Congress (184).(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)
August 1, 2005... While the current campaign against terrorist finance reportedly has diminished terrorists' abilities to gather and transmit finances, significant funds still appear to be available. Efforts to further regulate and introduce transparency into...

Key acronyms.(Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agency Efforts and Inter-Agency Coordination)(List)
August 1, 2005... AML--Anti-Money Laundering APHIS--Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ATF--Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives BSA--Bank Secrecy Act CBP--Bureau of Customs and Border Protection CBRS--Currency...

Oil industry profits: analysis of recent performance.(Statistical data)(Column)
August 1, 2005... Summary High prices for crude oil in 2004 and into 2005 have reduced consumers' purchasing power and raised costs for businesses while providing billions of dollars to the oil industry and oil exporting countries. The industry's increased...

USA Patriot Act: background and comparison of House- and Senate-approved Reauthorization and related legislative action.
August 1, 2005... Summary The House and Senate have each passed USA PATRIOT Reauthorization Acts, H.R. 3199 and S. 3189. Both make permanent most of the expiring USA PATRIOT Act sections, occasionally in modified form. After amending two of the more...

USA Patriot Act reauthorization in brief.
August 1, 2005... Summary Both Houses have approved proposals to reauthorize USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire at the end of the year. The House passed H.R. 3199 on July 21, 2005, 151 Cong. Rec. H6307; the Senate, S. 1389 on July 29, 2005...

Conventional arms transfers to developing nations, 1997-2004.(Statistical data)(Column)
August 1, 2005... Summary This report is prepared annually to provide unclassified quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing nations by the United States and foreign countries for the preceding eight calendar years. Some general data...

Introduction.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004)(Column)
August 1, 2005... This report provides unclassified background data from U.S. government sources on transfers of conventional arms to developing nations by major suppliers for the period 1997 through 2004. It also includes some data on world-wide supplier...

Major findings.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004)
August 1, 2005... General Trends In Arms Transfers Worldwide The value of all arms transfer agreements worldwide (to both developed and developing nations) in 2004 was nearly $37 billion. This is a significant increase in arms agreements values over 2003,...

Summary of data trends, 1997-2004.(Conventional Arms Transfers To Developing Nations, 1997-2004)(Statistical data)
August 1, 2005... Tables 1 through 1J (pages 41-51) present data on arms transfer agreements with developing nations by major suppliers from 1997-2004. These data show the most recent trends in arms contract activity by major suppliers. Delivery data, which...

Selected weapons deliveries to developing nations, 1997-2004.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004)(Brief article)
August 1, 2005... Other useful data for assessing arms transfers are those that indicate who has actually delivered specific numbers of specific classes of military items to a region. These data are relatively "hard" in that they reflect actual transfers of...

Regional weapons deliveries summary, 2001-2004.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004)
August 1, 2005... * The regional weapons delivery data collectively show that the United States was a leading supplier of several major classes of conventional weaponry from 2001-2004. Russia also transferred significant quantities of certain weapons classes...

Worldwide arms transfer agreements and deliveries values, 1997-2004.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004)(Brief article)
August 1, 2005... Ten tables follow. Tables 8, 8A, and 8B and tables 9, 9A and 9B, provide the total dollar values for arms transfer agreements and arms deliveries worldwide for the years 1997-2004 in the same format and detail as do tables 1, 1A and 1B and...

Total worldwide arms transfer agreements values, 1997-2004.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004)
August 1, 2005... Table 8 shows the annual current dollar values of arms transfer agreements worldwide. Since these figures do not allow for the effects of inflation, they are, by themselves, of limited use. They provide, however, the data from which tables 8A...

Total worldwide delivery values 1997-2004.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004)
August 1, 2005... Table 9 shows the annual current dollar values of arms deliveries (items actually transferred) worldwide by major suppliers from 1997-2004. The utility of these data is that they reflect transfers that have occurred. They provide the data from...

Description of items counted in weapons categories, 1997-2004.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004)(Brief article)
August 1, 2005... Tanks and Self-propelled Guns: This category includes light, medium, and heavy tanks; self-propelled artillery; self-propelled assault guns. Artillery: This category includes field and air defense artillery, mortars, rocket launchers and...

Regions identified in arms transfer tables and charts.(Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1997-2004)(Statistical data)
August 1, 2005... ASIA Afghanistan Australia Bangladesh Brunei Burma (Myanmar) China Fiji India Indonesia Japan Kampuchea (Cambodia) Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Malaysia Nepal ...

The budget reconciliation process: House and Senate procedures.
August 1, 2005... Summary The budget reconciliation process is an optional procedure that operates as an adjunct to the budget resolution process established by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. The chief purpose of the reconciliation process is to...

Introduction.(The Budget Reconciliation Process: House and Senate Procedures)
August 1, 2005... Overview of the Budget Reconciliation Process The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 established the congressional budget process. (1) Under the act, the House and Senate are required to adopt at least one budget resolution each year. (2) The...

Underlying authorities of the reconciliation process.(The Budget Reconciliation Process: House and Senate Procedures)
August 1, 2005... The principal authorities underlying the reconciliation process are set forth in two key sections of Title III ("Congressional Budget Process") of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Section 310 (2 U.S.C. 641) establishes the basic...

Reconciliation directives in budget resolutions.(The Budget Reconciliation Process: House and Senate Procedures)
August 1, 2005... Features of Reconciliation Directives The fundamental purpose of reconciliation directives is to compel committees to develop legislation to achieve certain goals reflected in the budget resolution that require changes in existing law (or...

Initial consideration in the House.(The Budget Reconciliation Process: House and Senate Procedures)
August 1, 2005... Four aspects of House action at this stage of the reconciliation process are addressed in this section: (1) the development of legislative recommendations by the instructed committees; (2) the preparation of an omnibus measure by the House...

Initial consideration in the Senate.(The Budget Reconciliation Process: House and Senate Procedures)
August 1, 2005... The initial consideration of reconciliation measures in the Senate is potentially a complex process that parallels House action in some respects, but differs significantly in others. Four aspects of Senate action at this stage of the...

Resolving House-Senate differences on reconciliation measures.(The Budget Reconciliation Process: House and Senate Procedures)
August 1, 2005... Under the usual practice, the House and Senate initially consider and pass their own reconciliation measures. In addition, reconciliation measures are complex, and in many instances, quite lengthy legislation. Accordingly, these factors...

Presidential approval or disapproval.(The Budget Reconciliation Process: House and Senate Procedures)
August 1, 2005... Reconciliation measures follow the same legislative path to enactment as other legislation. After a bill is submitted to him, the President has 10 days (excluding Sundays) in which to approve or disapprove it. If the President signs or does not...

Appendices.(The Budget Reconciliation Process: House and Senate Procedures)
August 1, 2005... Appendix A. Text of Section 310 (Reconciliation) (Section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974; 2 U.S.C. 641) Reconciliation Sec. 310. (a) Inclusion of Reconciliation Directives in Concurrent Resolutions on the Budget.--A...

Federal Stafford Act disaster assistance: presidential declarations, eligible activities, and funding.(Statistical data)
August 1, 2005... Summary The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) authorizes the President to issue a major disaster declaration to speed a wide range of federal aid to states determined to be overwhelmed by...

U.S. military operations in the global war on terrorism: Afghanistan, Africa, the Philippines, and Colombia.
August 1, 2005... Summary U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, Africa, the Philippines, and Colombia are part of the U.S.-initiated Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). These operations cover a wide variety of combat and non-combat missions ranging from...

Al Qaeda: profile and threat assessment.
August 1, 2005... Summary There is no consensus among experts in and outside the U.S. government about the magnitude of the threat to U.S. national interests posed by the Al Qaeda organization. Virtually all experts agree that Al Qaeda and its sympathizers...

The Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act ("Byrd Amendment").(Statistical data)
August 1, 2005... Summary The Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA), commonly known as the "Byrd Amendment," is a U.S. law providing for the distribution of import duties collected as a result of antidumping (AD) or countervailing duty (CVD)...